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Realism maintains that universal moral principles cannot be applied to the actions of states in their abstract universal formulation, but that they must be filtered through the concrete circumstances of time and place.

— Hans Morgenthau Politics Among Nations (1948)

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More quotes by Hans Morgenthau

Political realism is aware of the moral significance of political action. It is also aware of the ineluctable tension between the moral command and the requirements of successful political action.

Politics Among Nations (1948)

The struggle for power is universal in time and space and is an undeniable fact of experience.

Politics Among Nations (1948)

Political realism believes that politics, like society in general, is governed by objective laws that have their roots in human nature.

Politics Among Nations (1948)

Political power is a psychological relation between those who exercise it and those over whom it is exercised.

Politics Among Nations (1948)

Political realism refuses to identify the moral aspirations of a particular nation with the moral laws that govern the universe.

Politics Among Nations (1948)

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Hans Morgenthau (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.